Continuing south in the South Kohala district, I stopped at the Mauna Loa Resort area to visit the Puako Petroglyphs. Long-time readers may recall a visit here a few years ago. Surprisingly, I found some petroglyphs that I do not recall seeing before. Oh, for those who don't know, petroglyphs are simple images carved into a rock. We have them in Arizona too, although ours were carved by Native Americians not ancient Hawai`ians.

This one is pretty simple — obviously, a male.

This is a typical image, a bit more complex than a simple stick figure — an image which has become iconic used in many decor items in Hawai`i. I am curious about the significance of the wedges above this figure's head.

Here appears to be the image of a warrior, holding his spear above his head.

This one is quite intriguing — looks like a man with two extra and very long legs.

This unfortunate guy has very long forearms and upper legs — must have made walking difficult.

Wow, I did not know that Popeye was Hawai`ian.

If you follow the trail through the small stand of Kiawe trees, you will arrive at a large, relatively smooth area of lava flow with hundreds of petroglyphs. This area is fenced off and visitors are asked not to walk on them — in order to preserve them for all time.

Beach-side from the petroglyph trail is a beautiful beach but one which would be a challenge to swim. The contrast of the black lava rocks and the pieces of coral make this view very striking.

There are tide pools here with unusual yellow-green rocks.

Looking more closely, one can see hundreds of small black snails — plus a couple of well-camouflaged fish (look just below the center and a bit to the left of center).

What does the sign say? "Scenic Point". Slow down quickly onto the roadside parking area. It is indeed scenic! Too bad we had the hazy, overcast conditions. Another reason to return one day to try and get the incredible photo.